Workers In Visibility:
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COVID-19 is like an X-ray that has exposed the unsustainable relationship between labour and capital in India. It has also created an opportunity to address the systemic issues that perpetuate these unsustainable conditions.
Hear from leaders in civil society, the funding community, and the private sector as they discuss the challenges that informal migrant workers face, the systemic gaps that enable these conditions, and how civil society and the private sector are coming together to dismantle and bridge these gaps. |
Key takeaways
- Migrant workers build our nation—its cities and their infrastructure. Despite this, they do not enjoy basic rights nor do they get any dignity or respect from the government, society, or their employers.
- There are glaring data gaps when it comes to migrant and informal workers in India. We don’t know how many migrant workers exist, nor how many die due to accidents that take place at worksites.
- Migration patterns have changed dramatically in the last 6-9 months. Women’s participation has decreased from ~20% to a mere 3-5%. In the construction industry it is even lower at 2-4%.
- Under the aegis of the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act, funds are collected from industries for workers’ welfare. However, INR 30,000 crore lies unutilized in BOCW accounts. There is no service delivery mechanism to support migrant populations and consequently, the utilization rate is very low.
- COVID-19 is like an x-ray that has exposed the ugly underbelly of our society. It is pushing us to confront the fundamental question of the relationship between capital and labor.
- The energy and momentum that various stakeholders displayed while responding to the migrant crisis was phenomenal. We must continue to pay close attention to the systemic barriers that informal workers face and carry the same empathy and urgency forward as we respond to these systemic and structural challenges.
- There are several reasons why industry must invest in better working conditions. First, it is the right thing to do. Second, there is a clear business case to do so, as companies will feel the positive impact of this investment, directly or indirectly. Third, if business is to be sustainable in the long term, we have to look at the whole ecosystem. And a sustainable ecosystem cannot co-exist alongside the disparities that currently exist.
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session highlights
Eighty-five percent of India's non-agrarian workforce comprises of informal workers, many of whom are migrant workers who build our nation. In the wake of the COVID-19-induced lockdown, the dire conditions these workers are subject to, was made painfully visible to us all. The pandemic exposed the structural and systemic gaps in working conditions across industries. Simultaneously, it also led to an unprecedented convergence of a variety of stakeholders, who have come together to improve outcomes for informal workers.
The Learning Lab on Workers In Visibility: Ensuring Dignity and Equity for Vulnerable Workers in India, brought these stakeholders together to share their learnings. Tune in to learn about the challenges that migrant workers face, the systemic gaps that enable these conditions, and how civil society and the private sector are coming together to dismantle and bridge them to create just and sustainable working conditions for informal workers.
The Learning Lab on Workers In Visibility: Ensuring Dignity and Equity for Vulnerable Workers in India, brought these stakeholders together to share their learnings. Tune in to learn about the challenges that migrant workers face, the systemic gaps that enable these conditions, and how civil society and the private sector are coming together to dismantle and bridge them to create just and sustainable working conditions for informal workers.
quotes
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“The prevalence of trafficking, forced labor, physical and sexual violence is very high in the migrant community” – Ashif Shaikh, Jan Sahas/Migrant Resilience Collaborative |
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“We have a chance to reconsider, more amicably, the relationship between capital and labor. One need not progress at the cost of the other. We can bring together systems and standards to ensure that all move forward.” – Rajiv Khandelwal, Aajeevika Bureau/Social Compact |
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“Labor rights, that have been won over centuries, are being diluted.” – Amitabh Behar, Oxfam India |
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“If we want to make business more sustainable in the long term, we have to look at the whole ecosystem. And we cannot have a sustainable ecosystem if you have disparities like the ones we’ve seen in the course of the past year.” – Farhad Forbes, Forbes Marshall |
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“Women’s safety is a concern in informal work environments. Companies really need to think about the mechanisms and structures that are in place to protect women from acts of physical and sexual violence.” – Gayatri Divecha, Godrej Group |
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“It’s time we developed a global narrative from the south and for the south, about what responsible capitalism is going to look like for the future of workers.” – Samar Verma, Ford Foundation |
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